A Short Summary: The Mexican American Civil War

The Mexican American War was a very controversial event. The Americans believed in their “Manifest Destiny” which prompted them to annex the territory of Texas which, in turn, initiated the war on April 25, 1846. Texas was annexed to the Union as a slave state on December 29, 1845. This upset all of the Free states along with the Mexicans but the Southerners were in favor of the war because it gave them more strength when fighting for slavery. While there were many different beliefs about the Mexican-American War throughout the United States, these beliefs generally were the same within a region.

The Mexican American war was started in 1845; the main cause of the war then was whether the border of Texas would be at Nueces River the claim of Mexico or at the Rio Grande that was being claimed by United States. U.S. forces emerged victorious and as a result they were able to acquire more than 500,000 square miles of the Mexican territory and it extended westward all the way from Rio Grande to Pacific Ocean. However, tension between America and Mexico had been building for so long since when the Mexican government gave an invitation to the Anglo settlers back in the 1820.

“The United States had emerged as a modern capitalist nation, and the spirit of nationalism in the country was strong and growing” (Henderson 71). As tensions grew between the Unites States and Mexico, there was a thirst for war. The Unites States declared war with Mexico, because they owned land that Americans desired, resulting in America’s fulfillment of achieving their philosophy of “Manifest Destiny”. The blood boil of both countries caused a lot of bloodshed. The dispute lasted for a long two year battle which was for huge amounts of land. The Americans were victorious and claimed new territories from the conflict.

At the end of the Mexican War, lands were ceded to the Union in the West. People from the North and the South were debating over whether or not these lands should have slavery. The solution was pushed by Clay, Webster, and Douglas from the North that would give the new lands the choice to be slave or free depending on a vote. During the mid-1800's, the North was industrializing and populating at a much higher rate than the South which was becoming dependent on the cotton industry. The Compromise of 1850 created more problems than it solved in regards to the enforcement of slave laws, lands in the West, and popular sovereignty.

Post the Mexican – American War in 1846, there would be a plethora of political change that would be inevitable for the Mexicans, and the Americans. These changes would bring about a divide between the two countries that would keep them in a rivalry spanning over numerous decades. However, before this rivalry could occur, something would be needed to induce it. The Mexicans and the Americans would fight against each other for over a year until a victor would succeed. Ultimately, all the fighting would have an outcome of epic proportions due to the political losses and gains each country would encounter. Though the end of the war brought Mexico further independence, it also contributed to

U.S. War with Mexico had many effects on both countries. Even though American’s gained a considerable amount of land, it leads to a great deal of sectional tension. The two governments agreed to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which confirmed the annexation of Texas and ceded California and present day México, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah to the United States (Foner,474). With this huge land acquisition, the issue of slavery in the new territories was raised. The new land caused a great deal of conflict, and created great political sectionalism in America. Gaining this much land at a time seemed like a good idea until Americans had to deal with the political issues that went along with it. Residents from both the North and the South wanted

The Mexican War, Spanish Guerra de 1847, or Guerra do Estados Unidos a Mexico, are different names for the Mexican-American War. Many incidents happened even before the war officially began. Eisenhower simply and bluntly stated: “The fact is that Mexico stood in the way of the American dream of Manifest Destiny.” Manifest Destiny was just one of the causes that pushed us to war with Mexico. The first battle was at Palo Alto, a fort that was in the disputed zone. There were many battles in 2 years. The war finally grasped an end when Mexico signed a treaty in Mexico City. With the treaty, U.S and Mexico were able to reach terms. Each proceedings that happened, brought on the war that lasted from 1846-1848 and then ended with the U.S as victors.

Did you know that in the Mexican-American War, the US took half of Mexico 's land? After Mexico 's independence from Spain in 1821, the northern lands of Mexico were rarely used. America saw this as an opportunity to expand by seizing Mexico’s northern lands, and took it. They accepted Mexico 's offer to live in Texas, and soon Texas became overrun with Americans. They influenced Texas to go against Mexico, and eventually Texas was won by the US in battle. After that, Mexico and America began having disputes. However, the Mexican-American War officially started when Mexican troops shot American soldiers in the disputed territory. In modern-day, many people take sides about whether it was right or not for America to declare war upon Mexico. In various forms, one of the most controversial questions is, "Did the US have good reasons for starting war with Mexico?". The United States were not justified because they were greedy for land, broke Mexican laws that they agreed to while in Mexico, and created faulty reasons for their actions.

They solved this by admitting Missouri as a slave state, but also admitting Maine as a free state, therefore creating a balance of representatives in the government.  They also made an arbitrary line called the 36’ 30’ parallel.  This line was horizontally cut between the border of  arkansas and missouri and ran west through till California.  This line outlawed the institution of slavery in any new state north of the line, excluding Missouri.  Any state south of the line could choose whether or not to permit slavery.  This idea worked at the time, keeping a balance in the legislature, and avoiding a national crisis.  However, 30 years lates when America had received the Mexican Cession from the Mexican American, more issues arose from this compromise.  Modern day California was growing at an extraordinary rate due to the Gold Rush of 1849.  Therefore, they had wished to be admitted to the union as a free state.  This would however disrupt the balance of representation in the legislature, and it would not be popular among the southern states.  There was also the issues of whether or not these states should have the right to self determination for the issue of slavery, whether or not Texas’s borders extended as far as Sante Fe, New Mexico, and whether slavery and the slave trade should be allowed in our nation’s capitol, Washington DC.  Henry Clay, a senator from Kentucky thought he could

President James Polk was, an expansionist (he wanted to expand the United States) “… Confided to the Secretary of the Navy that one of his main objectives was the acquisition of California.” “On May 9, before news of any battles, Polk was suggesting to his cabinet a declaration of war, based on certain money claims against Mexico, and on Mexico's recent rejection of an American negotiator named John

Thesis: The Mexican-American War was a leading factor in the cause of the American Civil War through the acquisition of new territory along with the concept of Manifest Destiny and the effects of this war can even be felt to this day.

The belief was that America had a God-given right, or destiny, to expand the country’s border from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean (Lee, 2011). Tension arose between the US and Mexico in 1846 after an attempt to purchase the California and New Mexico Territories was rebuffed over a border dispute. In Texas, the situation worsened when the southern border was disputed. Mexico claimed the border at the Nueces River, while Texas claimed the border at the Rio Grande. President Polk wanted to goad the Mexicans into a conflict to obtain Texas while also securing New Mexico and California, however; it was essential that Mexico commence it (Tindall & Shi, 2010). On May 9, 1846 the Mexicans attacked US soldiers, President Polk’s scheme worked. On May 13, 1846 President Polk signed the declaration of war. The Mexican-American War had begun.

Southern desire to spread slavery went a long way in causing in the Mexican American war, this desire, along with expansion and power, were the main motivators of this fight. The South had wanted to spread its slavery empire westward into Texas through the annexation. Desire was a major factor in the decision to fight for Texas as during this time, a large amount of support was rallied behind the deciding forces. Expansion had meant that slavery would continue spreading westward, and these slaveholders were keen on achieving this goal. Power that came with the acquisition of Texas and the spread of the practice of slavery further motivated pro-annexationists to fight in a war. The following combined elements: desire, expansion, and power, drove slavery supporters so far as to go to war with Mexico in 1846.

Scholars are quick to neglect the beginning of the fight when discussing the Mexican-American struggle for justice. People claim that “the first major rumblings...were heard in California in 1967,” citing radicalization in universities (Rosales 175). However, they blatantly disregard the foundation for the movement as whole. The beginning of the 20th century Mexican-American revolution dates back at least to depression-era America, starting with the case Alvarez vs Lemon Grove, a monumental decision prohibiting de jure segregation of Mexican-Americans in public school and followed by multiple other lawsuits similarly challenging segregation and discrimination (Castro). Rosales’s reading does however differentiate these cases as well as early

Mexican-American War was caused mainly by the priority from both parts to gain territory as well as the desire of Texas to become an independent republic. This topic does not spark many conversations in the U.S. However, states like California, Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico which were precisely involved in this conflict won by the U.S and ironically, where the Hispanic/Latino culture is the predominant minority, acknowledge this war as the turning point that defined the structure of the countries from which they came. In the other hand, the education in Mexico strongly recognizes the consequences that this war brought to the nation. September 13th is considered a holyday since they celebrate the feat of “Los Niños Heroes” (The Heroes Kids) at defending the nation in The Chapultepec Castle. However this fate has been questioned the past decade due to lack of reliable evidence. It exists as well a resentment feeling for the causes that lead the Mexicans to lose a significant portion of their territory, and also a pride and respect for the soldiers that defended Mexico. The war of 1846 inspired the works of Ramon Alcaraz, Timothy J. Henderson, and Richard B. Winders whose respective books analyzed the significance of The Mexican – American War in both countries Mexico and The United States as well as